"Palm Springs police: Marine shooting was 'reasonable'"

2015-07-15T12:15:34-04:00

From: Desert Sun
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The Palm Springs Police Department has argued in federal court that a police officer who dove into the open window of a fleeing car, then fatally shot a drunk driver at point-blank range, acted "reasonably."

New court documents also show that the officer has changed his explanation for why he leaped into the car in the first place.

These arguments were filed this week in response to a lawsuit from the family of Cpl. Allan DeVillena, a 22-year-old High Desert Marine who was killed by Palm Springs police on Nov. 10, 2012. DeVillena, who was drunk, was shot six times as he attempted to drive away from two bicycle cops, Mike Heron and Chad Nordman, on the bottom floor of the downtown public parking garage.

The confrontation escalated dangerously when Nordman attempted to stop DeVillena's Chrysler by jumping through the passenger-side window with his gun drawn, leaving his legs dangling outside the car. Heron did not see Nordman leap through the window, so he assumed his partner had been pulled into the vehicle and was under attack, according to statements he made to law enforcement. Heron opened fire on the Chrysler to save Nordman, then Nordman shot DeVillena in the torso to save himself.

The Police Department argues that it was appropriate for both officers to use deadly force because, if DeVillena had kept driving, Nordman's legs would have been crushed against the concrete pillars at the exit of the parking garage.

"Under the rapidly evolving events confronted by the officers, their fear that DeVillena would hit and hurt or kill someone was objectively reasonable," wrote Lois Bobak, an attorney for the Police Department, in court documents.

These Police Department arguments come from a motion for summary judgment, filed Monday, that asks a judge to dismiss the DeVillena family's lawsuit without the need for a trial. Much of of the motion focuses on the "reasonableness" of the officer's actions because police are generally immune to use-of-force lawsuits if their decisions are considered reasonable in the spur-of-the-moment.

In this case, the Palm Springs Police Department has said Nordman and Heron were forced to make a split-second decision in a life-and-death scenario, but experts have said that Nordman created the danger in the first place.

During prior interviews with The Desert Sun, three law enforcement experts said the DeVillena shooting was an extreme example of "officer-created jeopardy." When Nordman dove into a fleeing car, he endangered himself, prompting his partner to use deadly force to protect him, the experts said.

"It's a horrible situation the police officer is in because I'm sure he wants to stop this guy from driving away drunk, but unfortunately diving in the car makes the situation worse," said Geoffrey Alpert, a deadly force expert at the University of South Carolina. "At the time the officer pulled the trigger, he may have had a reasonable fear for his life, but with that said, it was his actions that created the jeopardy."

Nordman and Heron have been cleared of all criminal culpability by the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. The court documents filed Monday revealed for the first time that the officers were also cleared by an internal investigation conducted by the Palm Springs Police Department.

Both officers have declined to talk to The Desert Sun about the DeVillena shooting.

Pivotal moment, shifting story

The new court documents show that Nordman has shifted his explanation for why he jumped into DeVillena's fleeing vehicle.

"I entered the front passenger window both to stop Mr. DeVillena from driving and to avoid being hit by the car as it turned upon me," Nordman said in a court declaration, filed Monday.

The second part of that statement is new.

In two prior interviews with investigators, Nordman has said repeatedly that he jumped into DeVillena's Chrysler to stop the car. He never said that he jumped through the window to avoid being hit by the car.

"Why'd you jump in that window?" an investigator asked Nordman after the shooting, according to an interview transcript obtained by The Desert Sun.

"Make the driver stop the car," Nordman responded. "He didn't seem like he was gonna ... taking me seriously enough, me being outside the car and telling him to stop, so I figured I'd get inside and make him stop."

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/crime_courts/2015/07/14/devillena-shooting-court-documents/30150189/

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jul 15 at 2015 12:18 PM

2015-07-15T12:18:41-04:00

Really? I wouldn't think this type of action would be close to being reasonable.

Response by CMSgt Mark Schubert made Jul 15 at 2015 12:23 PM

2015-07-15T12:23:29-04:00

This is an unfortunate thing - but the accountability lies with the Marine - he should not have been driving drunk - and - if he wasn't, none of this would have happened.
"It's a horrible situation the police officer is in because I'm sure he wants to stop this guy from driving away drunk, but unfortunately diving in the car makes the situation worse," said Geoffrey Alpert, a deadly force expert at the University of South Carolina. "At the time the officer pulled the trigger, he may have had a reasonable fear for his life, but with that said, it was his actions that created the jeopardy."
WHAT? And we discard the drunk driving all together as having nothing to do with this situation? It's the root cause!!! That's some "expert"!

Response by SN Greg Wright made Jul 15 at 2015 12:28 PM

2015-07-15T12:28:05-04:00

Legally reasonable or not (I'm not sure I agree with that), if you jump into the window of a car, you're asking to get squished.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jul 15 at 2015 12:55 PM

2015-07-15T12:55:49-04:00

To call this chain of events reasonable is to call it reasonable to shoot a man for drunk driving. The strict logic chain breaks down at the dive inside the car.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 15 at 2015 1:41 PM

2015-07-15T13:41:35-04:00

First and foremost, to anyone who responds to this discussion: WERE YOU THERE? I am a retired LEO, and I know I was not there. I cannot nor will not make any assessment of this incident without being privy to ALL the facts. Our system of justice is based upon that premise. What I can and will address is one outrageous element of the above news report, as provided. Some academic "expert" in deadly force, states, and I quote, "At the time the officer pulled the trigger, he may have had a reasonable fear for his life, but with that said, it was his actions that created the jeopardy." He called it "an extreme example of officer-created jeopardy." I've heard everything now. So, an officer, running into the midst of a raging VERBAL domestic disturbance (the kind of call-for-service that can kill more police every day in this country, second only to routine car stops) is, by his mere presence, somehow responsible for the escalation of the fight when one of the players pulls out a gun, forcing the officer to shoot him or her. Absolutely asinine. This officer-created jeopardy concept is tantamount to an individual robbing a store of some kind, causing the proprietor to take a defensive posture by retrieving a weapon from under the counter, to which the would-be robber responds by displaying a weapon, resulting in the store owner shooting the bad guy...then being charged with aggravated homicide!!! Leftist, liberal excuses created by lawyers or academia to give the bad guys more rights than crime victims. Damn, I am glad that I am done and gone from that everyday war of words and weapons!!! Below, if anyone is interested, is a recent video of what police can face daily, and an increasing number of them are. This is a car stop, a routine car stop, but, as you will see, it turns out to be anything but routine. Given the above definition of "officer-created jeopardy," it could be easily argued that the officer in this car stop "created the jeopardy" in which he found himself, by merely stopping the car.

Brilliant, America, absolutely brilliant!!!

http://conservativetribune.com/mob-thugs-attacks-innocent-cop/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=TPNNPages&utm_content=2015-07-14

VIDEO: Mob of Thugs Attacks Innocent Cop, But It Didn't End There

America's police officers are still under attack.

Response by TSgt Seth Borrell made Jul 15 at 2015 5:26 PM

2015-07-15T17:26:15-04:00

No matter what happened or who's fault it was im not even gona get into that. It all couldve been avoided had he not drank and chosen to drive, much less trying run. Poor desicions on all sides of this issue led to an untimley death, but when you drink ,drive and run you inherintly take the risk something really bad is going to happen.

Response by Cpl Dave David made Jul 15 at 2015 8:58 PM

2015-07-15T20:58:56-04:00

How would jumping in a window allow you to avoid being hit? Unless the guy was doing some fast and furious drift shit, once the front wheels clear you, the rest of the car will too. You fucked up mr cop man.

Response by SSG Eric Eck made Jul 16 at 2015 7:08 AM

2015-07-16T07:08:10-04:00

SCPO Donnie Bowerman asked me a question then blocked me from responding, that's a grown up thing to do. Anyway, my comment was based on the article which is why I posted it the way I did. And if facts can only be proven in a court of law, how do you know what color the sky is? I mean really, that is quite the moronic statement, isn't it?

Response by Cpl Jeff N. made Jul 16 at 2015 7:55 AM

2015-07-16T07:55:21-04:00

The Marine should not have been driving drunk, no doubt, but drunk driving stops do not warrant deadly force unless the driver did something to escalate the event. He did not, the police officer did. A cop leaping into a car (with weapon drawn) in an heroic attempt to stop it and putting his life and the driver's life at more risk is indefensible. Why is his weapon drawn in the first place?

His partner opened fire too not knowing why he was half in the car. The officer created the deadly situation by his action, period. Had the car pulled away they could have easily had an office in a car engage it. Sounds like an unfortunate chain of events that led to an unnecessary death and the cops are tossing smoke grenades to cover themselves.

Response by Capt Lance Gallardo made Jul 16 at 2015 2:20 PM

2015-07-16T14:20:21-04:00

The Public across the US is becoming increasing alarmed and disturbed by the quick resort to deadly force by Police Officers against unarmed civilians, and motorists such as the one in this incident (the classic justification for using deadly force against an unarmed motorists is "he tried to run me over, so that is why I shot x number of times at the driver. To stop the threat"). Police are required by their training and tactics NOT to put themselves in a position in relationship to a motorist and the car so as NOT to have to resort to the use of deadly force. There is NO police academy or SOP training Manual on tactics for civilian police officers, that ever taught or teaches a police officer to dive through an open window of a moving car. Such behavior is extremely risky for the safety of the LEO and probably caused the officer in this situation to have to resort to deadly force, when he realized he was in a compromised and life threatening situation. The fact that the District Attorney did not charge him with unlawful homicide does not excuse his horrible decisions and tactics, which ultimately led to the death of the DUI suspect. He should be fired at the minimum!

Response by Capt Lance Gallardo made Jul 16 at 2015 2:28 PM

2015-07-16T14:28:52-04:00

"Law enforcement experts say however, that the incident was an overwhelming case of “officer-created jeopardy,” initiated by Norman himself, when he unwittingly dove into the car.

“At the time the officer pulled the trigger, he may have had a reasonable fear for his life,” University of South Carolina deadly force expert Geoffrey Alpert said. “But with that said, it was his actions that created the jeopardy.”" From USA Today Article from 7-15-2015 link below:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/15/police-dead-marine-palm-springs/30174563/